Difficult Men

Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad

Will this be known as the age when TV established dominance over movies as an art form? Martin makes the case persuasively, but the human factor, not trailblazing technology, occupies the heart of his smart, fascinating read on the serpentine histories of some of this generation's most celebrated TV dramas.

Staunton and Imrie: cinema is changing to appeal to older audiencesAssociated Press

ShowBiz Minute: Fergie, Rush, R KellyAssociated Press

Hollywood is ready for spring and ready to cleanAssociated Press

Carpenter's debut novel, about a Navy SEAL son who has gone missing on a secret mission, tells a story that is at once timeless and also grounded in the very real vicissitudes brought about by current events.

Tampa

By Alissa Nutting

(Ecco; 266 pages; $25.99)

In this sly and salacious debut novel - about a married 26-year-old female teacher who preys on male students at a junior high school - Nutting forces us to take a long, unflinching look at a deeply disturbed mind, and more significantly, at society's often troubling relationship with female beauty.

Big Brother

By Lionel Shriver

(Harper; 373 pages; $26.99)

Shriver's novel has the momentum of a story of a co-dependent relationship with an addict, except the topic of food issues feels so much more pertinent and interesting than the snort-it-shoot-it-smoke-it stories that have oversaturated the literary market.